Chapter 17: Further Understanding of the Zerg Clone
Around the Nest, three biological structures covered in chitinous shells and bristling with spikes rose and fell like human breathing. These were the newly hatched Evolution Chambers.
If one got closer, they could hear a buzzing sound from within, as if something was spinning at high speed. This was the sound of the Evolution Chambers operating at full capacity, analyzing the monster's genes.
Through feedback from the Nest's consciousness, Qin Mu learned that although the Nest's computational abilities were powerful, they were not infinite. It could only maintain three Evolution Chambers running at full capacity to analyze the monster's genes. If more were built, it would actually reduce efficiency.
Therefore, Qin Mu only hatched three Evolution Chambers. Depending on the needs, the three chambers could either analyze one type of monster's genes simultaneously or multiple types.
To enable the swarm to have its first combat unit as soon as possible, Qin Mu had all three Evolution Chambers analyze the Tiger Mastiff's genes.
A vast amount of information was flowing rapidly, and Qin Mu was amazed by what he saw. As soon as the analysis began, all the memories and information of the monster were presented in a very intuitive data stream, exposing all its secrets. From its birth, its first howl, growth, battles, to its eventual death, it was all clearly displayed like a long movie.
"From birth to death, all the memories have been read." Qin Mu was astonished.
Some useless memories were discarded, while some battle-related memories were retained. These memories, after extracting their essence, would be loaded onto the newly hatched Zerg units, allowing them to be born with strong combat power.
However, this was just the beginning. A deeper level of analysis was underway. Countless gene spirals appeared in Qin Mu's mind in a very intuitive manner. In the Evolution Chamber, gene information was being extracted like unspooling silk.
"This is too beautiful, too magical."
Qin Mu was amazed. The countless gene chains were combined in a form that Qin Mu couldn't understand but was extremely exquisite and perfect, making it a sight to behold. This structure was extremely vast, like a galaxy, constantly combining and eventually converging into a complete life structure diagram.
This was the life diagram of the Tiger Mastiff.
"Once the analysis is complete, will the swarm be able to fully master the Tiger Mastiff's genes?"
As soon as this thought appeared, corresponding information emerged in the Nest.
The answer was negative.
Once the analysis was complete, what was mastered was only the dominant genes in the Tiger Mastiff's gene information. With this level of gene control, the Tiger Mastiffs hatched by the Nest would only be as strong as this Tiger Mastiff, which was at the mid-level beast soldier rank.
If all its hidden genes were truly analyzed, it would be possible to hatch warlord-level, or even Horde Leader-level Tiger Mastiffs, controlling everything about this species like their creator. That was beyond the capabilities of a first-level Mother Nest.
"This life structure diagram is too astonishing. With each life structure diagram mastered, the swarm can hatch one more type of unit."
"I can feel that in the Evolution Chamber, I can easily and freely modify this life structure diagram. But I don't understand the gene structure at all. If I modify it rashly, the life structure diagram will collapse, and I won't be able to create new units."
Qin Mu frowned. Although all the Zerg units were derivatives of his will, due to the lack of inheritance, he couldn't understand the gene information at all. If he couldn't understand even the most basic gene information, then creating new Zerg units was out of the question.
He could only rely on the Evolution Chamber's inherent modulation ability, consuming a vast amount of energy for random evolution, hoping for good luck. This was obviously not what Qin Mu wanted to see.
"No, even if I don't understand this gene information, I can learn."
Qin Mu suddenly thought of the room at home, filled with all kinds of books, including research on various monster genes.
"That's right, although the swarm's inheritance is gone, I can completely learn the basic knowledge of gene modulation through human technological research, and then quickly master gene knowledge with the help of the Nest's powerful computational abilities and the Evolution Chamber's gene modulation capabilities." At this thought, Qin Mu's eyes lit up.
In the world of "Swallowed Star," one of Luo Feng's clones, the Remote Ocean Body, actually possessed a similar ability. Luo Feng's Remote Ocean Body had a talent secret technique called Creation, which allowed him to refine energy, combine life genes, and eventually condense life.
Later, Luo Feng even used this ability to create a new species.
"Once I return to the base, I'll start learning about genes. With my current insight and learning ability, plus the assistance of the Nest, my progress will be very fast."
Qin Mu's eyes were filled with a sense of longing. That was the creation of life.
No longer paying attention to the constantly analyzed gene information in the Evolution Chamber, Qin Mu returned his consciousness to the Nest to learn and familiarize himself with more information about the swarm.
One thing that particularly caught Qin Mu's attention was the soul of the Zerg clone. Unlike the human soul, which was an integrated whole, the Zerg race's soul was dispersed. The entire swarm's soul, in Qin Mu's consciousness, was composed of an exceptionally bright orb and dozens of very dim points. These corresponded to the Nest and the worker bugs.
Qin Mu could easily transfer his consciousness to the Nest or any worker bug. This was somewhat similar to the soul of the Zerg queen in Qin Mu's memory of the "Swallowed Star" world.
In this world, the true life form of the Zerg race was actually only the queen. Later, Luo Feng enslaved a queen at the Sector Lord level, and that queen's soul consisted of 10,000 orbs, 10,000 soul sources.
Qin Mu's situation was different. His Zerg clone was not a single one but the entire swarm.
Therefore, the soul of Qin Mu's clone was composed of all the Zerg units. His position in the swarm was more like the collective consciousness of the entire swarm, the absolute ruler of this swarm.
Although this swarm's strength was still weak, its potential was far beyond what a queen could match.
"The ruler of the Zerg race?" Qin Mu's eyes gleamed. This was too interesting.
Having a Zerg clone also had another advantage: it was hard to die.
In this universe, most strong individuals with clones were not afraid of death because if a clone died, it could be reborn.
Like Luo Feng, his Mosha clone had died countless times, and each time it died, it could be easily reborn.
Qin Mu discovered that he could do the same thing. For the Zerg clone, as long as the genes of his human self were analyzed, the Nest could easily incubate a human body. He could do the same as Luo Feng.
To truly kill Qin Mu's Zerg clone, all the Zerg units had to be killed. Only then would the clone be considered truly dead.
Qin Mu was excited. If this guess was correct, then once the swarm developed, it would be difficult to kill him.
"Let me see what other surprises there are?" Qin Mu happily browsed through the information in the Nest, and indeed, there were more surprises.
"The fungus carpet, this seemingly inconspicuous thing, is also quite powerful. The fungus carpet can grow in most environments and can extract nutrients from the ground through its underground tendrils. It can also digest the corpses of other organisms, processing them to sustain itself and other bug units. This is also why the Evolution Chambers need to be hatched on the fungus carpet.
Moreover, the fungus carpet forms a neural connection network, alerting the swarm to any information, including invaders, that appears on the fungus carpet.
As long as the Zerg units stand on the fungus carpet, they can receive a continuous supply of energy, accelerate the recovery of their injuries, and even get a speed boost. Therefore, when battles take place on the fungus carpet, the swarm will have an absolute advantage."
The more Qin Mu learned, the more he felt the power of the Zerg race, and he also felt that this Zerg race was somewhat different from the one in his memory of "Swallowed Star."
However, Qin Mu didn't dwell on it too much. The world of "Swallowed Star" was too vast, and anything could happen.
"Soon, new Zerg units will appear. It's time for my swarm to expand."
*****
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